Rate My Professor Xuan Zhuang

Xuan Zhuang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014, with a dissertation titled 'Creating sense from non-sense DNA: de novo genesis and evolutionary history of antifreeze glycoprotein gene in northern cod fishes (Gadidae).' Following her doctoral studies, she conducted postdoctoral research before joining the University of Arkansas. Her research program centers on the genetic basis of complex trait variation and novel trait evolution, integrating molecular evolution, quantitative genetics, comparative genomics, and bioinformatics. Zhuang investigates cryptic genetic variation—hidden genetic potential revealed under specific gene-environment interactions—and its role in complex diseases. She uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model for multi-omic studies involving genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and environmental stressors like high-sugar diets to map gene-trait connections, polygenic traits, and pleiotropy. Additionally, her work examines adaptations in non-model organisms, particularly polar fishes, focusing on antifreeze protein evolution, mitochondrial gene rearrangements, and population genetics of species such as groupers, croakers, and notothenioids.

Zhuang has secured major funding, including approximately $2 million from the National Institutes of Health to study gene-environment interactions in metabolism and disease susceptibility using outbred and inbred Drosophila populations under varied diets. She also received a $436,000 NIH R15 grant for 'Dissecting cryptic genetic variation underlying complex traits in Drosophila,' supporting three years of research with an inducible genetic defect model. Earlier, AIMRC pilot awards in 2021 and 2022 enabled development of Drosophila models for insulin deficiency and diet-induced diabetic traits. In 2023, she was named a Connor Faculty Fellow by Fulbright College, receiving $6,000 for faculty development. Key publications include 'Molecular mechanism and history of non-sense to sense evolution of antifreeze glycoprotein gene in northern gadids' (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019), 'Diverse origins of near-identical antifreeze proteins in unrelated fish lineages provide insights into evolutionary mechanisms of new gene birth and protein sequence convergence' (Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2024), 'A comprehensive description and evolutionary analysis of 22 grouper (Perciformes, Epinephelidae) mitochondrial genomes with emphasis on two novel genome organizations' (PLoS ONE, 2013), and 'ND6 gene “lost” and found: evolution of mitochondrial gene rearrangement in Antarctic notothenioids' (Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2010). Her scholarship has garnered over 660 citations, advancing knowledge of new gene origination, protein convergence, and environmental adaptations.